Tag: sleep

Sleep. Please give me all the sleep. It’s the thing that all parents are seriously lacking in. How toddlers run on so little sleep has to be some sort of miracle. Sleeping when they sleep doesn’t constitute to enough sleep most of the time. It’s a cruel joke, really. I know I know….”Cherish these days while you have them, they don’t last. You will wish you were up at 3 am snuggling in 6 years”. Blah blah blah. No I wont. I will never wish that I was up at 3 am watching Curious George praying that MAYBE it will make her settle long enough for me to snag a few more snoozes.

Until the day that my kids are teenagers and sleeping like I wanted them to when they were two, I will just funnel coffee directly down my throat, and work out at 5 am in hopes that I can make it till bedtime.

DockATot sent us their Grand dock and I gladly accepted. Promises of happier babies and more sleep. Yes please. Take all my money.

What is a DockATot?

Quite literally it is a safe pillow to nest your child in for a cozier sleep environment. It comes in two sizes the Deluxe and the Grand. Deluxe is made for 0-8months and Grand is made for 9-36 months.

The Grand is perfect for cuddling, playing, lounging, resting and everything in between. It’s ideal for travel—either from room to room, grandma’s house or on vacation. It’s also ideal for bed transitioning, thanks to built-in, air permeable bumpers that act as bed rails, allowing young children to settle more easily in a bigger bed. It gives little ones a snug sense of security in their newer, bigger beds.

The dock comes in many different patterns and they also have many cover options that you can purchase separately.

The pad and bumpers are very breathable. I shoved my face in and could definitely take a deep breath and breath comfortably. That made me feel good about my one year old using it. I wish I would have had this months ago when my little man was still co-sleeping because of nursing. I am sure this would have given him more hours of sleep in the pack n play next to my bed.

I have to admit that I was skeptical. It’s HUGE. And basically a big body pillow for toddlers. Both BK#1 and BK#2 are HUGE fans of it. BK#1 ended up with it permanently in her bed though. BK#2 is my sleeper and will sleep 12 hours at night and a good 2 hour nap during the day. BK#1 on the other hand is almost 3 and fights sleep with everything in her being. We recently moved her into a twin bed, and I think the large surface area might be messing with her sleep pattern. After I saw how much that she loved playing in it, and then dozing off in it, I decided to put it in her bed to see what would happen.

The past 3 days she has gone to bed without a fuss and stays up until her clock tells her that she can get out of bed. Which hasn’t happened in a few weeks! I am actually going to push the time up a little bit for her because I think it is actually waking her! She is definitely more comfortable and not tossing and turning as much. She hasn’t came in my room asking to be covered back up or arriving at my bedside at 4am saying she is up for the day. WIN!

BK#1 LOVED it in his crib. He is 1.5 and can have things in his crib, but the FAQs say that’s not what it is made for without observation. I put it in there for a nap time and a photo, because dang it …its adorable!

What I don’t love:

The price?!?! I get that its made of some awesome breathable fabric, its gone through some pretty strict testing, and the design is awesome…but really almost $300 is a little steep. That is NOT in the average person’s budget. The company is limiting their market by quite a bit with the price. If I knew that some pillow bumpers would have made my toddler happy then I would have put two body pillows in her bed!

Its HUGE. Yes it would be great to have at a grandparents house, or on a vacation for unfamiliar beds, but getting it there is the problem. You can purchase a carrying bag but its still the size of a large suitcase. Lord knows that parents have to take way too much as it is when we travel with children, add on carrying a huge pillow? Yeah that would be a big NO in my book. The car seat for the airplane is enough to lug around.

I give the DockATot a 3 out of 5 stars. Its awesome and definitely gets the job done, but the price is way too high and its definitely not something you have to have as a parent. Adorable and super popular right now? yes. Practical 100% of the time? No.

But before that, I fed you, rocked you and then I laid you in your crib with your mobile going ‘round, hoping you would drift off to sleep like I know you can.

You do it all the time.

But right now you just want your mommy. You want to snuggle, feel my warmth, smell my smell and know you are safe.

I have tried a binky and you won’t take it.

You don’t care for your lovey.

Daddy can put you to sleep on rare occasions.

Sometimes, you have worn yourself out and mommy’s parenting book-tactics work.

Not today.

You cried and cried and mommy just couldn’t take it, little mister.

I scooped you up, snuggled you close, you latched, drank a little and passed out. I closed my shirt and just sat there and cried.

“Why were you crying mommy?” You might want to know.

Because my sweet angel, I know this is temporary. Your sister didn’t want to be snuggled to sleep when she was your age. She wanted her binky, her bed and to be left alone. These days, she has to be convinced for a hug or kiss.

I know that there will be a time when you are just too busy playing with your sister.

A time when you’re chasing the dog around the house.

A time when building a big block tower will be all you can think about

A time when you and sissy will play prince and princess in your table fort all day.

A time when you walk into a classroom and don’t look back.

A time when you talk about growing up and being “just like daddy”, wanting to wear that shiny uniform and mommy will encourage your dreams, but will be scared to death.

A time when after school all I get is a hug and asked for a snack before you are running out to the back yard where you dad is waiting to pitch you the baseball.

A time when you have your first crush and its not me.

A time when you spend your days pranking your sister and I.

A time when we have to talk about the birds and the bees.

A time that we your rent a tux for prom.

A time when we tour colleges.

A time you bring “the one” home and mommy just knows.

A time when you bring home your own baby.

A time when you call me in the middle of the night, because like you, your child won’t sleep.

A time you get to hold and take care of me.

And when most of these days pass, your mommy will be the very last thing on your mind. There will be a day that I can hardly remember this moment.

So I’m throwing out the parenting books. Forget the sleep training. I don’t care how tired I am. I don’t care if I look clingy. I will nurse you, snuggle you, rock you, whatever you want for as long as you want.

These moments only last for a short time and I will keep you little for as long as I can.

I hear so many parents talk about their babies and children, and how they just “Go with the flow, they don’t have a schedule”. My response? Are you CRAZY! I would not be able to function, and neither would my children. If your children are happy and function well like that, more power to you, but I believe that babies and children need structure and a schedule to function well.

Through years of education, child care, teaching, researching children, and now having my own I have a pretty good idea of why structure works, and how to implement one. I have parents and friends ask me all the time “How do you do it?” and my answer every single time is “support, prayer, coffee, and STRUCTURE!”

Okay, so let’s dig a little deeper and make a routine!

Why are routines so important? (I will just say ‘them’ because this applies to babies, toddlers, AND children!)

A routine lets them know what to expect.

A routine gives them a sense that their life is predictable.

A routine is calming, and provides a sense of security

Gives them the ability for self- initiation.

Gives you, the parent, less to worry about and more to focus on.

As an example BK#1’s morning routine looks like this : wake, get dressed, go downstairs and get breakfast, playtime, snack, reading time (where we end up reading every single book that is on the first floor), lunch, relax time – cup of milk and a show or story, and naptime by 12:30.

BK#2 has a very similar schedule, although he is 17 months younger! : Wake, nurse, playtime, nap and repeat. Eat, play, sleep= very important for a baby, but I won’t get into that in this post.

Every. Single. Day. If we have things to do, or errands to run, then it is worked in after breakfast and before lunch so she gets to bed for nap on time.

On a more physical level, it lets them to participate in the day to day activities. – meaning a routine can help encourage independence in your child. When they know what is coming next, they are more willing to do it. But, also more willing to do it on their own.

Our schedule is very flexible, but it is the routine that is important. If BK#1 asks for an apple after she has had lunch, and we aren’t quite getting ready for nap yet (it’s not a distraction to get out of nap), then yes she gets another snack. If she is acting tired and fussy earlier than normal then she might go down for a nap an hour or so early. The schedule keeps me sane, but their routine keeps them happy!

So relax and go with the flow! {The flow that you have created!- see how that works}

When you are making your routine for your children/babies remember that it takes time, effort and consistency.

Consistency will make it easier for you to transition from one activity to the next, hopefully without a meltdown. If I get BK#1 down for her nap at her scheduled time, she goes willingly and goes right along with our nap routine. If her nap gets pushed back and then she is over tired, there’s a meltdown coming and she cries for a bit. It’s not pleasant, I have to carry her up to her bed crying and screaming that she doesn’t want to go for her nap, when she obviously needs it.

Remember to praise their effort, not results. – i.e.: your two year old trying to get their pants on but they may be backwards and inside out. They tried, and that is what is important.

With babies look at the bright side of things. They might not have napped as long as you wanted them to the first few days of getting them on a routine, but they did it in the time frame you wanted. It’s a start!

Keep your focus on what is going well in your routine, not what is making you crazy. Be sure to give lots of praise and positive attention to LOs when they make an effort, to boost their self-esteem and they will want to try even harder next time. (If you are creating a routine for your baby make sure your DH is doing this for YOU, so you don’t get discouraged)

Lastly, make sure you don’t have too high of expectations for your LO!

Pay attention to their development and what you are trying to require of them. If you are trying to get a nursing 4month old to sleep through the night it just might not be possible. Most breastfed babies need to wake at least once during the night to feed. And that is OKAY! If you are trying to get your 1 year old to only take one nap a day they might not be ready for that, because they are still a baby and require a TON of sleep!

You cannot set a schedule and expect them to follow it all the way from day one. If you’ve decided on an earlier bedtime, you will need to gradually move up their bedtime to let them get familiarized to the new schedule. Does it mean they will be more accommodating and easy going? Maybe not, but if it will help then why not try it to see if it works for you.

If you haven’t set a routine from day one from the hospital, this might be hard to start. Don’t get discouraged! I promise that it will make your child happier and make your life so much easier!

When I was in college, I saw the movie Paranormal Activity with my fiancé (now DH). Mind you, I’ve always loved a good scare and own the entire Saw series. That movie scared me so badly I did not sleep for weeks.

Contributing factors to my fear:

The first night I saw it, after watching two comedies immediately after, I dosed off and my fiancé pulled my leg out from under the covers and started to pull me off the couch (scene from the movie, absolutely terrifying) (why did I still marry him?!)

My roommates found out about this fear and told me they were going to come into my room and stand over my bed for hours every night. I slept with my door locked, a chair up against the door and a BB gun next to my bed for two months. I wish I was exaggerating.

It’s scarier when you’re watching it alright?!

So when I say that ghosts/demons/general night time creepiness scares the living s%!+ out of me, I mean it.

Naturally you can understand my horror when while traveling recently, my LO developed a sleep talking, crawling and walking habit. This is worse than a habit. It’s happening about every other night and generally starts around 4 am. It goes on for about 45 minutes until I can’t take it anymore and go get her and bring her into my bed. It’s not fussing or crying. It’s baby gibberish along with her favorite word “uh oh!” We are also not limited to talking. Occasionally she’ll get up, shuffle a few laps around the crib and then face plant back down, completely asleep. Yea. It’s freaking terrifying to wake up to.

Crap Google told me:

Up to 40% of children will have a sleep walking/talking episode at least once.

It typically happens after they develop a new skill such as walking or talking.

Generally it will happen in the first two hrs of their sleep during REM sleep.

This can be hereditary.

There’s nothing you can really do about it.

You shouldn’t tell them about it because it could create a sleep anxiety.

I’ve decided that it happens more often when she has not taken good naps that day (so true that good naps = good night time sleep) or has had a lot of out-of-routine activity.

Moral of the story, my video monitor has turned into my own personal Paranormal Activity hell. Going to drink some sleepytime tea and pray for a night lacking another episode of Adventures With Asleep Callie…

PROS: I’ve used this sound machine since my LO was about a month old. It has 6 different sound options from classical music and nursery songs to nature and white noise. I’ve kept it on the ocean track for the majority of the time. The blue part on the bottom is a built-in nightlight that isn’t too bright and can be tapped to turn on (perfect for midnight bathroom runs!) It ALSO has four different rotating scenes that can be projected onto the ceiling. The cartridges for these scenes conveniently store in the side of the unit. There is a timer for the sound option (I leave it going nonstop) and it also has the option for voice activation so if your LO wakes up crying, it will automatically turn on.

You get all this in a compact unit that has a good length of extension cord and plugs in to an outlet. I’ve used this an average of 3 times a day for over a year and it has never had any issues at all!

CONS: Really the only con I can think of is that is does need to be plugged in so there is a cord risk if it is not put up during the day or in a higher up location.

This sound machine will cost you about $29.99 and in my opinion, it is totally worth it. This has become a staple in our bed and nap time routine and my LO loves it! It’s easy to travel with and has been reliable in spite of CONSTANT use. A winner in my book!